Cabinet having rails capable of preventing a drawer from falling

ABSTRACT

A cabinet includes a housing, a drawer, two rails, and two engaging members. The housing includes two side walls, a back wall, and a front opening. The drawer has a bottom surface and is disposed between the side walls. Each rail extends in a front-to-rear direction and has a lateral plate portion, a longitudinal top support face, a longitudinal limit face, a front end block, a connecting face, and a rail groove. The engaging members project downwardly from the bottom surface of the drawer in proximity to a rear end of the drawer, and are movable along the connecting face of one of the rails when the drawer slides on the top support face. The engaging members respectively have protrusions that engage the respective front end blocks when the drawer slides to front ends of the rails, thereby limiting the drawer from being released from the housing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a cabinet, more particularly to a cabinet that includes rails capable of preventing a drawer from falling.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional cabinet 5 includes a plurality of rails 4, a housing 51, and a plurality of drawers 52 (only one of the drawers 52 is shown in FIG. 1). The housing 51 includes a back wall 511 and two side walls 512 that respectively extend from two sides of the back wall 511. Each rail 4 is rectangular parallelepiped and is fixedly connected to the respective side wall 512. A lateral surface 41 of each rail 4 is attached to the respective side wall 512, and a top support surface 42 thereof extends transversely from a top end of the lateral surface 41 towards the respective drawer 52 so as to support the same. Specifically, the rails 4 are fixedly connected to the side walls 512 in pairs, thereby stably supporting the drawers 52. Each drawer 52 can be slid on the top support surfaces 42 of one pair of the rails 4 when drawn outwardly from or pushed into the housing 51.

However, when the drawer 52 is drawn outwardly from the housing 51 and slid a distance that is longer than a length of the rails 4, the drawer 52 is completely separated from the top support surfaces 42. Since there is nothing to support the drawer 52, the drawer 52 may fall away from the housing 51 such that articles stored in the drawer 52 fall out. Therefore, the rails 4 are incapable of preventing the drawers 52 from falling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a cabinet including rails that are capable of limiting a drawer from being released from a housing.

According to this invention, a cabinet includes a housing, a drawer, two rails, and two engaging members. The housing includes two side walls, a back wall that is connected between the side walls, and a front opening that is formed between the side walls and opposite to the back wall. The drawer has a bottom surface and is disposed between the side walls.

Each of the rails extends in a front-to-rear direction and has a lateral plate portion that extends longitudinally in the front-to-rear direction and that is fixed in abutment with one of the side walls, a longitudinal top support face that extends transversely from a top end of the lateral plate portion toward the drawer and that is in sliding contact with the bottom surface of the drawer, a longitudinal limit face that extends beneath the top support face and transversely from the lateral plate portion, a front end block that extends downwardly from the top support face and transversely from the lateral plate portion, a connecting face that interconnects the top support face and the limit face, and a rail groove that is bordered by the limit face, the lateral plate portion, and the front end block.

Each of the engaging members projects downwardly from the bottom surface of the drawer in proximity to a rear end of the drawer, and is movable along the connecting face of one of the rails when the drawer slides on the top support face. Each of the engaging members has a protrusion that extends into the rail groove of one of the rails. The protrusion is limited from being moved out of the rail groove by the limit face and the front end block. The drawer engages the front end block when the drawer slides to front ends of the rails, thereby limiting the drawer from being released from the housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional cabinet;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a cabinet according to this invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary horizontal cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of-rails of the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view to illustrate a drawer that is fully received in a housing of the cabinet according to the preferred embodiment;

FIG. 6 is the same view as FIG. 5 but illustrating that the drawer is moved outwardly from the housing; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 2-7, the preferred embodiment of a cabinet 1 according to the present invention includes a housing 11, a plurality of drawers 12 (only one of the drawers 12 is shown in FIG. 2), a plurality of rails 2, and a plurality of engaging members 32.

The housing 11 includes two side walls 112, a back wall 111 that is connected between the side walls 112, and a front opening 110 that is formed between the side walls 112 and opposite to the back wall 111.

Each of the drawers 12 has a bottom surface 121 and is disposed between the side walls 112.

The rails 2 extend in a front-to-rear direction, and are mounted on the side walls 112 in pairs to support the drawers 12. Each rail 2 has a lateral plate portion 211 (best shown in FIG. 4) that extends longitudinally in the front-to-rear direction and that is fixed in abutment with one of the side walls 112, a longitudinal top support face 212 that extends transversely from a top end of the lateral plate portion 211 toward one of the drawers 12 and that is in sliding contact with the bottom surface 121 of one of the drawers 12, a longitudinal limit face 213 that extends beneath the top support face 212 and transversely from the lateral plate portion 211, a front end block 22 that extends downwardly from the top support face 212 and transversely from the lateral plate portion 211, and that is disposed away from the back wall 111, a connecting face 214 that interconnects the top support face 212 and the limit face 213, and a rail groove 210 that is bordered by the limit face 213, the lateral plate potion 211, and the front end block 22.

Each of the rails 2 further has a front release hole 215 that extends through the connecting face 213, the top support face 212, and the limit face 213, and that is spatially connected to the rail groove 210 in proximity to the front end block 22.

Each of the rails 2 further has a rear end block 23 that extends downwardly from the top support face 212 and transversely from the lateral plate 211, that borders the rail groove 210, and that is adjacent to the back wall 111, and a rear release hole 216 that extends through the connecting face 213, the top support face 212, and the limit face 214, and that is spatially connected to the rail groove 210 in proximity to the rear end block 23. The front and rear end blocks 22, 23 are symmetrical. As such, it is not necessary to determine which rails 2 should be disposed on the right or left of the housing 11, thereby reducing the time for positioning and mounting the rails 2 on the side walls 112. However, it is noted that provision of the rear end block 23 is optional. Each rail 2 may be provided with the front end block 22 only. Each pair of the engaging members 32 are fixedly connected to and project downwardly from the bottom surface 121 of the respective one of the drawers 12 at locations which are respectively proximate to the side walls 112 and which are near a rear end of the respective one of the drawers 12. Each of the engaging members 32 has a protrusion 31 that extends into the rail groove 210 of one of the rails 2, and that has a circular cross section and an external diameter smaller than an internal-diameter of either one of the front release hole 215 and the rear release hole 216. Each engaging member 32 is movable along the connecting face 214 of one of the rails 2 when the respective drawer 12 is slid on the top support faces 212 of the respective pair of the rails 2. It should be noted that the protrusion 31 could have a quadrangle cross section or a cross section of other shape in other embodiments.

The protrusion 31 is limited from being moved out of the rail groove 210 by the limit face 213 and the front end block 22. Preferably, the front and rear end blocks 22, 23 respectively have a stop face 221, 231 that is adjacent to the rail groove 210 and that is a curved face. The stop face 221 is designed for engagement with the protrusion 31. It should be noted that the stop face 221, 231 could be a flat face in other embodiments. The stop face 221 is opposite to the stop face 231 in the front-to-rear direction.

The drawer 12 engages the front end blocks 22 when the drawer 12 slides to front ends of the rails 2, thereby limiting the drawer 12 from being released from the housing 11. The protrusions 31 are movable upwardly from the rail grooves 210 through the front release holes 215, thereby permitting removal of the drawer 12 from the housing 11.

Referring back to FIGS. 2 and 3, in assembly, the protrusions 31 of the drawer 12 are first inserted into the respective front release holes 215 and then moved downwardly until the bottom surface 121 of the drawer 12 contacts the top support faces 212 of the rails 2. Afterward, the drawer 12 is pushed towards the back wall 111 until the engaging members 32 reach the rear end blocks 23. In this state, the drawer 12 is fully received in the housing 11 and is stably supported by the rails 2.

Referring once again to FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 6, when the drawer 12 is drawn outwardly from the housing 11, the engaging members 32 are moved towards the front end blocks 22. Since the protrusions 31 abut against or engage the respective stop faces 221 when the drawer 12 is slid to the front ends of the rails 2 (i.e., the drawer 12 is at a fully open position), the drawer 12 is unable to be drawn further. Therefore, due to the engagement between the drawer 12 and the front end blocks 22, the protrusions 31 are limited from being moved out of the respective rail grooves 210 (i.e., the drawer 12 is limited from being separated from the rails 2). In this state, even though the drawer 12 is not held by the user who draws the drawer 12, the drawer 12 will not be released from the housing 11 because the stop faces 221 abut against the respective protrusions 31. In addition, when the drawer 12 is slid on the top support faces 212 of the rails 2, since the protrusions 31 are moved within the respective rail grooves 210 and are limited by the respective limit faces 213, the drawer 12 can be prevented from being separated from the rails 2 and the housing 11.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation and equivalent arrangements. 

1. A cabinet comprising: a housing including two side walls, a back wall that is connected between said side walls, and a front opening that is formed between said side walls and opposite to said back wall; a drawer having a bottom surface and disposed between said side walls; two rails extending in a front-to-rear direction and each having a lateral plate portion that extends longitudinally in the front-to-rear direction and that is fixed in abutment with one of said side walls, a longitudinal top support face that extends transversely from a top end of said lateral plate portion toward said drawer and that is in sliding contact with said bottom surface of said drawer, a longitudinal limit face that extends beneath said top support face and transversely from said lateral plate portion, a front end block that extends downwardly from said top support face and transversely from said lateral plate portion, a connecting face that interconnects said top support face and said limit face, and a rail groove that is bordered by said limit face, said lateral plate portion, and said front end block; and two engaging members each projecting downwardly from said bottom surface of said drawer in proximity to a rear end of said drawer, and each movable along said connecting face of one of said rails when said drawer slides on said top support face, each of said engaging members having a protrusion that-extends into said rail groove of one of said rails, said protrusion being limited from being moved out of said rail groove by said limit face and said front end block, said drawer engaging said front end block when said drawer slides to front ends of said rails, thereby limiting said drawer from being released from said housing.
 2. The cabinet as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said rails further has a front release hole that extends through said connecting face, said top support face, and said limit face, and that is spatially connected to said rail groove in proximity to said front end block, said protrusion being movable into said rail groove through said front release hole.
 3. The cabinet as claimed in claim 2, wherein said protrusion has a circular cross section.
 4. The cabinet as claimed in claim 2, wherein said front end block has a stop face that is provided adjacent to said rail groove for engagement with said protrusion.
 5. The cabinet as claimed in claim 4, wherein said stop face is a curved face.
 6. The cabinet as claimed in claim 2, wherein each of said rails further has a rear end block that extends downwardly from said top support face and transversely from said lateral plate portion and that borders said rail groove, and a rear release hole that extends through said connecting face, said top support face, and said limit face, and that is spatially connected to said rail groove in proximity to said rear end block, said rear end block having a stop face that is adjacent to said rail groove. 